Third Community Solar Project Plans Underway >>> Member interest is growing for participation in a new Phase III Community Solar project. Last month we announced that plans are underway to build another community solar array. The responses from members in one month are encouraging. Community solar is when a company such as Crow Wing Power builds a large array that multiple people can subscribe to and own shares. It’s meant for people who do not have the ability to install one on their property or may not want to spend what it takes for a full blown system. What drives a member to pay a little more to own a piece of solar-powered electricity? We asked co-op members Nick and Cassie Heisserer who currently own shares in the Phase II Community array and are planning to purchase more from the new Phase III project.
The Heisserers, who live in the Pillager area with their two teenage boys, stated, “One of the main reasons we participate in community solar is wanting to invest in a cleaner future for our children.” Nick, a lifelong learner, said the energy grid is fascinating to him. Their family makes environmentally conscience choices like becoming electric vehicle owners with a home charging station and participating in Crow Wing Power’s 2013 Energy Savers contest where they came in second. The Heisserers believe community solar is a great financially feasible way to have solar energy. “We want each family member to have their own share for long-term use.” said Nick. The idea of the community solar for them was an easy choice. They can drive by the solar garden and say to their boys, “We own shares of that. We are part of a bigger picture impacting us now and in the future, isn’t that cool.” More information on becoming a community solar share holder can be found at cwpower.com – click on the environment tab.
>> Finnley, Nick, Cassie & Gavin Heisserer
How Did Community Solar Production Fare in the Past Three Years?
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Crow Wing Power has built two community solar arrays since the spring of 2017. We anticipate the planned Phase III Community Solar array will mimic the Phase II project we built in 2018. The design will be similar and the location of Phase III will also be at our outpost in Swanburg east of Pine River. In order to anticipate how much solar power shareholders of a new Phase III project might expect, we looked at the output of the similar Phase II array over the past three years. The annual production of power from our second solar array varied significantly, mostly due to weather. Much of last year we had little snow cover and less rain, which greatly increased production compared to previous years. >> Continued on Page 4
kWhs Snow Days Rain Days
>> Less rain and snow days increased solar production in the Phase II array.